After a long hiatus, we're back! Talia talks with Byrd Pinkerton, amazing podcast producer and multimedia artist, about three chapters in which Melville rambles about how people depict whales. We dissect monstrous pictures rendered in florid la

Chapters 52-54: "The Albatross," "The Gam," "The Town-Ho's Story"

Jan 23rd, 2021 1h 13m

Talia talks with Beth Skwarecki, senior health editor at Lifehacker, about three fascinating chapters. That's right -- we're BACK! After 33 episodes last year, we're off on the second year of Moby Dick Energy, and with hellish strength we are t

Chapters 50 & 51: "Ahab’s Boat and Crew. Fedallah" & "The Spirit-Spout"

Dec 10th, 2020 51m 14s

Talia talks to author and producer Jay Bushman, author the new book "Novel Advice," about two marvellous chapters of this book. We're back, babey!!!! With an Agony Aunt letter from Ishmael, an exploration of Melville's orientalism, and the haun

Chapters 48 & 49: "The First Lowering" and "The Hyena"

Nov 17th, 2020 1h 8m

Prefacing this episode is Talia's prank call to the Trump Voter Fraud hotline.This episode Talia talks to the lovely, gentle-voiced and brilliant Lili Loofbourow, a staff writer at Slate, about THE FIRST TIME WE ENCOUNTER SOME REAL LIFE WHALES

Chapters 46 & 47: "Surmises" and "The Mat-Maker"

Nov 3rd, 2020 44m 53s

Talia talks with Sarah Marshall, of the "You're Wrong About" and "Why Are Dads" podcasts, about 2 odd marooned mid-40s chapters of the book. It's Sarah's first experience with the book and we debunk some myths about Ahab -- as well as conveying

Chapter 45: "The Affidavit"

Oct 12th, 2020 53m 17s

Talia talks with New York Times bestselling author Morgan Jerkins about the bizarre and wonderful chapter "The Affidavit." With clips from "Matilda," asides about dairy, and as always, contemplation of the majesty and terror of The Sea.

Chapters 43 & 44: "Hark!" and "The Chart"

Sep 28th, 2020 51m 35s

Talia talks to Justin Scheck (@ScheckWSJ) about a short chapter and a longer chapter, which are also a comical chapter and a profound chapter. In "Hark!" we see a bit more of daily life on the Pequod, while "The Chart" attempts to map Ahab's ma

Chapter 42: "The Whiteness of the Whale"

Sep 21st, 2020 1h 12m

Talia talks to vaunted Melville scholar Christopher Freeburg about an infamous, complex and fascinating episode, "The Whiteness of the Whale." We discuss the meaning of whiteness, filled with both sinister and holy connotations. Has the author/

Chapter 41: "Moby Dick"

Sep 9th, 2020 56m 10s

Talia talks to James Beard Award nominated writer Rax King about Chapter 41, "Moby Dick." It's an encapsulation of the book in miniature: we talk about the feared whale himself, introduced to our antagonist at last; about the madness of Ahab; a

Chapter 40: "Midnight: Forecastle"

Aug 27th, 2020 56m 11s

A RADIO PLAY.First, Talia talks to Akela Lacy, reporter at the Intercept, about the strange, drunken dream of this chapter; its racialized elements; and the feelings of Pip, the Black cabin-boy, about being alone on a ship of white madmen, thre

Chapters 37-39: "Sunset," "Dusk," "First Night-Watch"

Aug 14th, 2020 1h 4m

Talia talks with grand dame of stage and screen Natalie Walker (@nwalks) about these three Very Dramatic chapters. Reading aloud and Singing ensue. Soundscape, editing and production by Ilana Weinstein.

Chapter 36: "The Quarter-Deck"

Jul 30th, 2020 54m 1s

I talk with Donni Saphire (@donni on Twitter) about the beginning of a stellar run of theatrical chapters. In "The Quarter-Deck," Ahab emerges and presents his quest for vengeance to the crew of the Pequod. Donni says Ahab reminds him of a boss

Chapter 35: "The Mast-Head"

Jul 14th, 2020 59m 20s

Talia talks to the smart and charming Maris Kreizman of the literary podcast the Maris Review about a curious and wonderful chapter, "The Mast-Head," about standing watch on a whaleship; the dangers of reverie; and scurrilous young Platonists.

Chapter 34: "The Cabin-Table"

Jul 8th, 2020 1h 7m

Talia talks to Kristian Fischer about a wonderful & strange chapter about dinner on the Pequod; the sailor's Kristian's dated; Jungian analysis of Moby-Dick; and the power of literature in times of social upheaval.Production by Ilana Weinstein.

Chapter 32: "The Specksnyder"

Jun 29th, 2020 59m 20s

Talia talks to Isaac, an Aussie comrade, about a curious chapter that feature's a capsule theory of the corrupting nature of power. Is Melville an anarchist? Is Australia upside down? We explore these and other questions. NO GODS NO CAPTAINS NO

Chapter 32: "Cetology"

Jun 15th, 2020 52m 11s

Talia talks to Lisa Munger, a marine biologist specializing in marine biological acoustics, about the legendary Chapter 32, "Cetology," featuring Ishmael's frankly bizarre, wonderful and inaccurate taxonomy of whales. We go into detail about wh

Chapters 29-31: "Enter Ahab, to him Stubb," "The Pipe," "Queen Mab"

Jun 12th, 2020 1h 11m

Talia talks with Manu Saadia, author of "Trekonomics," about 2020's protests, the rot at the heart of America, the moral core of the country being on the streets, racism from America to Paris, and the role of literature in times of revolution.

Chapter 28: "Ahab"

May 29th, 2020 1h 2m

WE FINALLY MEET CAPTAIN AHAB. Talia's guest is Mary Davenport, a seminary student at Yale Divinity School, and we talk about the Biblical burdens of kingship, Ahab's livid birthmark, Mary's brother who sails on antique tall-ships, AND MORE!

Chapters 26 & 27: "Knights and Squires"

May 21st, 2020 1h 18m

In Moby Dick Energy's longest--and most leftist--episode to date, Talia talks with the writer and teacher Nandini Balial about the crew of the Pequod. We meet Starbuck, Stubb, Flask, Tashtego, and Daggoo; discuss the inalienable dignity of man;

EMERGENCY EPISODE: Chapter 22!!

May 5th, 2020 31m 45s

Talia talks with our Bildad and Peleg correspondent Alexandra Petri in this emergency episode, which is an emergency episode because Talia is a bit of an idiot and skipped Chapter 22 by accident (that is why I am the skipper of this podcast boa

Chapters 23-25: "The Lee Shore," "The Advocate," "Postscript"

May 1st, 2020 55m 40s

Talia talks with Adam Serwer, staff writer at the Atlantic, about three of the wildest and most delightful chapters in Moby-Dick: The Lee Shore, the Advocate, and Postscript. We talk about May Day, and Melville's passionate argument for the dig

Chapter 21: "Going Aboard"

Apr 25th, 2020 44m 33s

Talia talks with journalist and author Jonathan Katz about a particularly strange and wonderful chapter, in which we learn that Queequeg sits on people's butts as a chaise lounge, and compare this favorably to the ravages of global capitalism.

Chapters 19 & 20: "The Prophet" and "All Astir"

Apr 17th, 2020 51m 40s

Talia hangs out with her good pal Jim Higdon and we talk about the on-the-nose foreshadowing of having a poxy sailor named Elijah prophesy about Ahab. We also talk about provisioning a whaleship; the way pickles resemble humpback whales; and a

Chapters 17 & 18: "The Ramadan" and "His Mark"

Apr 8th, 2020 42m 27s

Despite some technical audio difficulties, Talia chats to historian Eric Rauchway about two chapters that are delightfully heavy on Queequeg. We discuss the tiki craze of mid-20th century America, Melville's experiences in Tahiti, snuggling, an

Chapter 16: "The Ship"

Apr 2nd, 2020 1h 7m

These are ominous times, and difficult ones. I hope this podcast can provide some solace as we all ride in our lonely whaleboats through a storm-toss't sea.Talia talks with Alexandra Petri, an old friend and the humor columnist at the Washingto